As you may or may not know, we are now officially supporting organized guilds and groups in Dysotopia. This means that I need your help in adding you into the beautiful world of Dysotopia.

What I need from your guild...

I need to know who your leader is...

I need to know where and what kind of guild hall you would like to have...

I need to know what item you would like to have to signify membership...

I need to know what special function you wish this item to perform when used. This special power can be used only once every 24 game hours and typically grants the member great power for a limited amount of time. Dream big and we'll trim it down.

Please use this forum thread to discucc final details with myself and Bri and feel free to create other threads to discuss these ideas amongst yourselves.

Hi Gesh, our Grand Druid (leader) is Snares.
There is more info about our guild in the "About the Circle" topic, if youre interested.
About the Guild Hall we would like to have, there is an excerpt from the 2nd edition druids book about neccesary features in a Druids Grove:

Features of a Sacred Grove

Each branch of the druidic order prefers certain sites for sacred groves.
These include the woodland groves of the forest druids, the oases of the
desert druid, the fungus-rich caves of the gray druid, and so on. In nearly
every case, the overriding requirement is that the sacred grove possess a
natural splendor. This splendor may range from the stark grandeur of a ring of standing stones atop a hill on a windswept moor to the gardenlike beautyof a tended forest glade.
A sacred grove is typically between 60 feet and 360 feet across (6d6 - 10
feet). Besides the expected grass, undergrowth, bushes, trees, or other
local features, desirable groves share certain elements.

Distinct Boundaries

Sacred groves reveal themselves readily to those who know what to look
for. A grove's boundary markers often result from the efforts of generations of druids. For example, the trees in a woodland grove may form concentric circles, the outermost layer reserved for the largest, most ancient trees. Often the trees in a sacred grove are of an unusual size or a type distinct from others in the wood. For example, a sacred grove in a birch forest might have many oaks. Their branches may even entwine to form natural arches to welcome visitors. In more open terrains, sacred groves may surround themselves with high, thorny hedges or even a river. Some groves have artificial borders, such as an outer ring of standing stones. A few are small islands.

A Clearing

A quiet place of meditation blanketed with soft moss or grass lies in the
center of the grove. Druids prefer groves carpeted with soft ground cover
that encourages dancing over a floor of simple dirt or stone.

Source of Water

A spring, well, brook, or pool (often fed by a waterfall) provides the
grove with pure, drinkable water. Druids use this water in their rituals
and in their day-to-day life as well. Some druids prefer still water to a
brook or spring, since the quiet water is less distracting during
meditation and can prove useful in divination.

Central Feature

A commanding structure--perhaps the source of water--acts as a natural
altar in the grove or as a focus for worship. Other common central features include a single great tree, a standing stone, or a fairy ring (a circle of toadstools or other fungi). These and other features sometimes possess magical powers, detailed in a later section.
Native Animals. An owl lives in a grove's great tree, a snake dwells under a stone--the druid is never really alone in a sacred grove. The place feels alive in every sense, and druids usually befriend a grove's inhabitants.

Living Quarters

While the druid and any servants or family members rarely live within the
sacred grove proper, home lies not far away. A forest druid, for instance,
generally has a stone, log, or sod cottage within a mile of the grove, with
a vegetable and herb garden, and perhaps a few domestic animals.

I apologise for the length of this but I believe most of it is relevant.
I also would like to ask about the nature of the special item... does it have to be an equipable item like a ring?? or can it be just something you carry around?? (i personally prefer something you dont have to wear and you use the special power on it)
And pleasepleaseplease is it possible for their to be 2 special powers for the item?? (this is because it coincides with out guild structure), obviously these powers then wont be as quite as powerful... And how powerful can they get?? as powerful as the Diety rings??_________________Z/Zor/Zorrath

The info is great, paint s anice picture for me to generate a place that only druids in your guild may visit...

Right now I'm limiting item powers to one per guild...but perhaps if you explain why you want two I can work something out...

The item is preferrably a symbolic item that you carry around with you...such as the "Eye of Mystra" or the "Shining Blade" that are used by the two orgs that are set up currently. They are unequippable items used for organization management as well as their special features...

Let me know what you have on the powers...and we'll try to work together on a happy meduim. May mean you have to wait longer for the items though!_________________Geshtal, Original Founder
Dysotopia & Dysotopia II: Shattered Realms

Thank you Lord Geshtal, it is a great honor to have you visit the Circle.

An outdoor location, with perhaps some form of shelter in times of danger that only members may enter such as a cave or underground tunnel (using hidden trapdoors to access) would be ideal. It would be nice though, to have some non-hostile creatures and animals for the druids to interact with as well._________________SNARES of the Dysotopian Druid Circle

Last edited by Snares on Sun Jan 19, 2003 8:23 am, edited 3 times in total

The reason I would like 2 special powers is due to our Caste system within the Guild. We would like to have 1 Universal power which is the same for all Castes, but then have 1 Caste power which is specific to which Caste you are in. (there currently a vote to see if this is a good idea...) Thanks for your reply to me tho.

And I think Gesh wanted to keep this topic clean just for the finalisation of the Item, please post only Questions/Replies to Gesh here and use the other topic for discussion..........

After what i've heard it is very hard (maybe impossibol) to make the transform-time "normal".
But i ask anyway. Can you make the transform-time normal or maybe longer?.
Because it's very irritating to transform to an earth elementar and then 20 sec later you are transformed back to your usual form. Elementar forms is one of the druids strengh, so it is pretty bad that they only can be transformed in 20 sec.
It would be very pleased of you if you could do that._________________Jr the Greatdruid of the Sentinels

On a side note, your special ability is not allowed to cause harm to anyone...it is only allowed to grant your members some short lived great strength or powers once per day._________________Geshtal, Original Founder
Dysotopia & Dysotopia II: Shattered Realms

Still waiting on a decision on what you want the item to do for you...

The area will be a grove with many trees that can be chopped by tradeskill people...so you'll have to defend your trees from foresters...might help you role play a bit and create an in game reason to attack and kill people in your woods.

I'll have a cave or some form of guild-only entrance in the grove where you will be able to go underground to hide from people._________________Geshtal, Original Founder
Dysotopia & Dysotopia II: Shattered Realms

Sorry to keep you waiting Gesh, could you give us till Friday? We are still waiting for more of our members to submit their votes in our item power poll. I'm presuming that most of them are busy at the moment working, thus there should be more responses by this weekend.

On behalf of the Druid Circle, thanks for letting us have our own guild hall and items. We're all grateful for it. Cheers _________________SNARES of the Dysotopian Druid Circle

By the way Gesh, the druids of the Circle are wondering if there's anything that can be done about the short shapeshift times, as we intend our special guild item power to have greater shapeshift abilities. Given the auto-saves and all, it reverts druids to their original forms too soon. Maybe there's a way to extend the time?

Thanks for your patience anyway._________________SNARES of the Dysotopian Druid Circle

Sounds like a mechanical issue with Bioware's code...I'll look into it sometime and see if I cant maybe even make it a permenant shapeshift...cause I'd have no problem with that. I think no matter what, when characters are exported you revert back to normal shape to prevent complexities while saving your characters...I'll look into it though!_________________Geshtal, Original Founder
Dysotopia & Dysotopia II: Shattered Realms

Thanks a lot Gesh. I've been looking around lately and noticed many of the other guilds seem to be preparing their guild uniforms. Are they going to be implemented soon and should the Circle be preparing prototype models as well? Or is this just another passing fashion craze in Dyostopia?

Greetings Gesh, do you think it'll be possible to implement Unwilling Wood onto the Sacred Branch whereby you can turn other players/ monsters within the area of affect into a tree (like the ones for the woodcutting tradeskill)?_________________SNARES of the Dysotopian Druid Circle

I liked the idea of the moot, perhaps the Guild only place in the CAve could be designed for those purposes as well, Im thinking a small pit where two druids could fight and then a place for people to watch from up above, similar to the Arena in Eleriina only not so civilization looking...or however you'd put it._________________Death to the ones that prey on natures beauty

I've had this idea for a while but have kept it back, i think it fits with this though. it involves maybe some quests for players to complete as well and adds alot more background to both the circle and the area.....

I've called this the T'yleneii Woods but Geshtal can call it whatever he wants, I'll use T'yleneii Woods for easy reference below tho, also some Names added in from the Druids Guild to make them relate...

The T'yleneii Woods was a grand forest where animals happily dwelled. It was a magical forest and was looked after by the Druids Circle, lead by Snares. Snares had always protected the woods from tree choppers and invaders who sought after the magic in the woods. One day a Guild of Evil Mages picked up the magic that was so strong in the beautiful forest. One by one mages began appearing, their evil was so great that the animals ran and hid when they saw them. The Mages began hiring men to come into the woods and chop trees down for them so that they can use the paper to make scrolls, the mages figured that the scrolls would be extremely powerful since the Forest was so illuminated with magic. Snares was outraged and the Druids Circle began to move in on the mages, Unfortunately the Mages power was so great and destructive that the Druids were forced to retreat. Snares however was determined to take back the Forest and repell the invaders. The Mages set up a guild tower on the otherside of the tower, Any animal or human that came near the evil looking structure at night would turn into a Werewolf. Nevertheless Snares would not allow the treechoppers and mages to continue to live in the woods, so to this day the two guilds still battle

could use some cleaning up i suppose and we should find some way to fit Z into it._________________Death to the ones that prey on natures beauty

the AAAA is planning on constructing a huge mage tower near a forest.....did you talk with them about this prior? It would make for a great player conflict cause those mages would be searching out tree choppers and paper sources and you'd be near with them and be foreced to protec them.

We'll see what becomes of this..

As far as the uniforms go, I'm allowing one NO-PROPERTY uniform to be submitted to me for your guild. This uniform cannot have AC or any properties other than "Light". You may restrict the class to druid if you want to since you are all druids anyway, but no one in your guild can get a copy anyway._________________Geshtal, Original Founder
Dysotopia & Dysotopia II: Shattered Realms

Thanks Shade. With regards to the status of our guild items, I've already sent a messenger to King Geshtal informing him that, based on the majority of votes, to have Improved Shapeshifting (dire penguins and chickens). Whether or not it's approved I do not know yet as of now so let's keep our fingers crossed and posts coming in. It's so quiet here lately! *sobs*_________________SNARES of the Dysotopian Druid Circle

Yes hope we get lycanthropes as well as Dire Tigers and other animal/ beast forms not currently available to us. I had good times roleplaying as a dire wolf. More options and better stats would be great, perhaps even some with additional abilities like lock-picking and bonus feats.

I think I should be fair that we get enhanced stats since our shapeshifted forms don't last forever and considering that the Sacred Branch allows us to use the ability only once a day._________________SNARES of the Dysotopian Druid Circle